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Letters to the editor – 3/4/15

Dan Boylan is correct when he says rail will be built, but here is why I know it won’t be gainful or efficient. Despite its powers of imminent domain and untold billions of dollars that will go toward rail, the state has yet to be able to solve the single biggest logjam on eastbound H-1. The Punahou exit has been the bottleneck on H-1 for more than 20 years, and despite its recent reconfiguration, it remains a logjam. If they can’t fix a single exit, how on earth are they going to do make rail work?

Boylan also is very astute when he calls rail fixed because by the time the rail is finished and taxpayers see the final bill, there is no way they’ll ever support extensions to UH, the airport or anywhere else — all of which should have been included in the initial plans. Enough already indeed!

Pat KellyKaimuki

Targeting Tulsi

Bob Jones’ hit piece on U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard was absurd. He failed to address the merit or lack thereof of Tulsi’s views regarding Islamic extremism. Instead he simply tried to tear her down with personal attacks.

His denigration of Tulsi’s service in the Middle East was sickening. In the first place, he should get his facts straight. Congresswoman Gabbard served in a medical unit in Iraq for more than a year.

One of her daily responsibilities was to go over the list of soldiers who were injured or killed to see if any were Hawaii’s sons or daughters. So don’t tell me that she doesn’t know the cost of war.

Furthermore, during her second deployment in Kuwait for nearly a year, she provided anti-terrorism training to Kuwait troops. These experiences not only gave Tulsi firsthand knowledge of the culture, the people and the cost of the wars in the Middle East, they also made clear her dedication to our country and her willingness to put her life on the line for all of us, including Mr. Jones.

She has served on Homeland Security, Armed Services and Foreign Affairs committees, as well as met and had in-depth discussions on the issues with leaders including King Abdullah II of Jordan and Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani.

Tulsi obviously has strong feelings about the cost of the wars that our leaders are carrying out in the Middle East, and she not only has every right but every responsibility to speak out. Mr. Jones’ attitude that the president and secretary of state always know what’s right because they’re the leaders is naive, frightening and undemocratic.